The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-04-07

ters would be apt to do Just as you do,
Reject Christ yourself, and the probabili-
ties is that your children will reject Him.
An account was taken of the religious
condition of families in certain district.
In the families of pious parents two-thirds
of the children we're Christians. In the
/ families where the parents were ungodly,
one-twelfth of the children were Chris
tians.' Responsible as you are for their
temporal existence, you are also RESPONSE
BILE for their eternity. Which way will you
take them? Out into the deiuge, or into
the 1rb? Hove ION "ve" "'o est
prayer for their immortal gouls? What
will you say in the Judgment, when G cd asks:
"Where is George, or Henry, or Frank, or
Mary, or Ann? Where are those precious
souls whose interests l committed into
your hands?"
A dying son said to his father: Father,
you gave me an education, and good man.
ners, and everything that the world could
do for me; but, father, you never told me
how to die, and now my soul is going out
in the darkness"
Go home and erect family altar. You
may break down in your prayer. But
never mind, God will take what you mean,
whether you express il intelligibly or not.
Bring all your house into the ark. Is there
one son whom you have given up? Is he
so dissipated that you have stopped coun-
selling and praying? Give him up? How
dare you give him up? Did God ever give
thee up? Whilst thou hast single articu-
lation OF speech left cease not to pray for
the return of that prodigal. He may even
now be standing on the beach at Hong
Kong or Madras, meditating a return to his
fathers house. Give him up2 Never give
him up. Has God promised to hear thy
prayer only to mock thee? 1t is not too
late.
In st. Pauls, London, there is a whis-
pering gallery. A voice uttered most
feebly at one side OF the gallery is heard
distinctly at the opposite side, great
distance off. So every word of earnest
prayer goes all around the earth and
makes Heaven whispering gallery. Go
into the ark-not to sit down, but to stand
in the door and call until all the family
comes in. Aged Noah, where is Japhet?
David, where is Absalom? Hannah, where
is Samuel? Bring them in through
Christ, the door. Would it not be pleas
ant to spend eternity with our families2
Gladder than Christmas or Thanksgiving
festival will be the reunion if we get all
our family into the nrk. Which of them
can we spare out of Heaven?
On one of the late steamers there we're
father and two daughters iourneying.
They seemed extremely poor. A benevo-
lent gentlema' uped up to the poor man
to protfer som, IN of relief, and said:
"You seem tc be- very poor, sir" "Poor,
sir, replied the nan, ''if there's poorer
man than me troubling this world, God
pity both of us!" II will take one Of your
children and adopt it if you say so. think
it would be great relief to you" "A
what?" said the poor man. "a relief"
"Would it be a relief to have the hands
chopped off from the body or the heart
torn from the breast? A relief, indeed!
God be good to us! What do you mean,
sir?"
However many children we may have, we
have none 10 give up. Which of our fam
lilies can We afford TO spare out of HeavenP
Come, father! Come, mother! Come, son!
Come, daughter Come, brother? Come,
sister! Only one step, and we are in
Christ, the door swings out to admit us;
and it is not the hoarseness of a stormy
blast that your hear, but the voice of low
ing and patient God that addresses you,
saying: Come thou and all Thy house
into the ark"
And there may the Lord shut us in.